A young Haskell football team used last year’s experience to make changes. The Haymakers went 2-8 last year. This year, the team consists mostly of juniors and freshmen who hope the previous lack of depth will lead them to success.
Depth is a luxury the Haymakers don’t have. Many underclassmen received playing time last season. This season, underclassmen are a large percentage of the team, but there is one difference.
They have experience. “At our team camp, our boys played,” coach Phil McWilliams said. “I think you just saw the difference between the way we played last fall and the way we played in the spring was just a lot more physical, aggressive and confident football.
” For the players, this season is about more than just winning. “It [winning] means everything to me,” junior Ryker Porter said. “I want it so bad, especially just for our guys and for the community.
Really, I want football to be back up there and something to be proud of.” The defense will remain similar because ten starters are returning. Cody Gilmore, the new defensive coordinator, and McWilliams have decided to put more decisions in the linemen’s hands, such as to switch blocks.
“What we’re trying to do is just get good at what we want to do and implement a few small things here and there in that defensive half,” McWilliams said. Porter said the changes Gilmore made created more trust within the linemen. “We love him,” Porter said.
“He’s been very active in our defense, and we love what he’s trying to implement. He’s implementing a lot of stuff that has kind of coincided with how we’ve been wanting to play, and it’s been great.” Lucas King and Dylan Ozinga were stat leaders in almost every category.
The senior duo graduated and the underclassmen are having to step up. McWilliams said more players will have playing time. “You’ll see more of a mix, instead of having nearly a 1000 yard receiver we’re hopefully going to have five or six guys getting 350 instead,” McWilliams said.
“It’s going to be more spread out. We need to be a 2,000 yard rushing team this year.” McWilliams said the offensive scheme will be different, partly because quarterback P.
J. Faul is finding his rhythm in the new role. Faul was the backup quarterback, but didn’t receive a lot of playing time.
McWilliams has confidence in the new leader. “He’s a good decision maker, he’s smart and he understands what we’re trying to do,” McWilliams said. McWilliams said Porter is a standout on the team and fans will notice No.
56 on the field. “He can dominate guys in a game just because of his size and his ability,” McWilliams said. “He’s a D1 type kid.
” Porter said his role is staying level headed. He helps keep attitudes in check and pushes his teammates to succeed. Porter is just one player who McWilliams considers a great leader.
He said the team is able to show up, work hard and accomplish their goals because of the leadership. “That’s what we want, just a good team effort, and that’s what this group of kids is like,” McWilliams said. “We don’t have to motivate them to get them going.
They’re good leaders to the younger kids, so it’s like the least amount of headache I’ve ever had as a coach.” This leads to more coaching and less discipline. “I can show up every day and do the job for these kids that put in the work and the effort,” McWilliams said.
“It just makes coaching football fun and better.” The team’s goal for the season is to compete successfully and remain focused. “We’ve just been really excited and ready to see what we can do,” Porter said.
“It’s been anticipated. We’ve been working hard, and we’re ready to go put that into effect.” McWilliams said other things in the world are pressure, but football is fun.
“I think they’re really excited about just getting the opportunity to get out there and prove themselves,” McWilliams said. Thursday’s preview: Webbers Falls..
